Method and apparatus for processing television system messages received when a device is in a low power mode

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus for processing system message data received at an electronic device that is in a low power mode are disclosed. System message data is processed by receiving at least one system message including data for processing by the electronic device while the electronic device is in the low power mode, generating a message available indicator responsive to the at least one system message, generating a process message signal responsive to at least one of (i) the message available indicator and (ii) the data of the at least one system message, transitioning device circuitry within the electronic device from a powered down state to a powered up state responsive to the process message signal, and processing the data of the at least one system message using the device circuitry in the powered up state.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of television and, moreparticularly, to methods and apparatus for processing television systemmessages received when a device is in a low power mode.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Television service providers periodically send television systemmessages to electronic devices configured for use with their televisionsystems. The television system messages may contain application datasuch as an electronic program guide (EPG) and system information such aschannel mapping parameters (e.g., channel frequency, modulation mode andvirtual channel number reference) for accessing television services.

Device circuitry within the electronic devices processes the systemmessages. Television service providers typically require that the devicecircuitry is continuously “powered up,” even if the electronic device isin a low power mode such as a standby mode. If the device circuitry isnot powered up, system message may be missed and it may take severalhours for redistribution of the system messages, e.g., due to a“carousel” format of the National Authorization Service (NAS) commonlyused to distribute system messages. Prior to receiving the systemmessages, the device circuitry may incorrectly tune channels or exhibitundesirable operating effects.

The television system messages may occur infrequently and generally havea duration of a few seconds to a few minutes. Thus, when the electronicdevice is in the low power mode, the device circuitry remains fullypowered even though it is rarely used. Since there is an ever presentdesire to reduce the amount of energy consumed by electronic devices,there is a need for methods and apparatus for processing system messageswithout requiring that the device circuitry is continuously powered up.The present invention fulfills this need among others.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is embodied in methods and apparatus forprocessing system messages received at an electronic device that is in alow power mode. System message data is processed by receiving at leastone system message including data for processing by the electronicdevice while the electronic device is in the low power mode, generatinga message available indicator responsive to the at least one systemmessage, generating a process message signal responsive to at least oneof (i) the message available indicator and (ii) the data of the at leastone system message, transitioning device circuitry within the electronicdevice from a powered down state to a powered up state responsive to theprocess message signal, and processing the data of the at least onesystem message using the device circuitry in the powered up state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a television system in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary electronic device for use inthe television system of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of exemplary processing steps in accordance withthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a conceptual representation of an exemplary television system100 in which television system messages (referred to herein as systemmessages) are passed from a service provider 102 to one or moreelectronic devices (represented by electronic device 104). The serviceprovider 102 provides television services to the electronic device 104.The service provider 102 may be an Internet, cable, satellite,terrestrial, wireless or essentially any content provider that deliverssystem messages.

The system messages include data for processing such as systeminformation and application data. System information includes, by way ofnon-limiting example, channel maps, time stamps, conditional accessmessages, and emergency alert system (EAS) messages. Application dataincludes, by way of non-limiting example, information such as electronicprogram guide (EPG) information. Typically, the system messages arecoded using a proprietary algorithm associated with the service provider102. The system information and application data may be interleaved bythe service provider 102 and passed to the electronic device 104.

The electronic device 104 receives the system messages from the serviceproviders 102 for processing. FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary electronicdevice 104. The illustrated electronic device 104 in FIG. 2 includesmessage circuitry 202, interface circuitry 204, and device circuitry206. The message circuitry 202 may be detachable from the interfacecircuitry (which is indicated by a dashed line 208). In embodimentswhere the message circuitry 202 is detachable, the message circuitry 202may be a module or a card that is inserted into a module/card port (notshown) coupled to the interface circuitry 204.

The message circuitry 202 receives system messages from the serviceprovider 102 (FIG. 1) for delivery to the interface circuitry 204. In anexemplary embodiment, the message circuitry 202 is security circuitrythat decodes the system messages using the proprietary algorithms of theservice provider 102. The message circuitry 202 may be a removablesecurity module/card that may be easily exchanged to enablecompatibility with other service providers.

The message circuitry 202 is further configured to generate a messageavailable indicator. In an exemplary embodiment, the message availableindicator is an interrupt that is generated when a system message isreceived at the message circuitry 202 from the service provider 102. Inan alternative exemplary embodiment, the message available indicator isa signal generated in response to a polling signal from the interfacecircuitry 204, if a system message is available at the message circuitry202. In accordance with this embodiment, the interface circuitry 204frequently polls the message circuitry 202. If a system message is notavailable at the message circuitry 202 when polled, the messagecircuitry 202 may generate a response indicating a message is notpresent or may provide no response. If a system message is available atthe message circuitry 202, when polled, the message circuitry 202generates the message available indicator.

The interface circuitry 204 receives the system messages via the messagecircuitry 202. The illustrated interface circuitry 204 includes aprocessor 210 and a memory 212. Incoming system messages received fromthe message circuitry 202 are received by the processor 210. Theprocessor 210 is configured to store the system messages in the memory212 as needed and transfer system messages to the device circuitry 206.A suitable processor 210 and memory 212 for use in the present inventionwill be understood by those of skill in the art from the descriptionherein.

The interface circuitry 204 may receive the system messages byrequesting them in response to a message available indicator from themessage circuitry 202. In an exemplary embodiment, the message availableindicator is generated by the message circuitry 202 when a systemmessage is available in response to a polling signal from the interfacecircuitry 204. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the messageavailable indicator is an interrupt generated by the message circuitry202 when a system message is available.

In an exemplary embodiment, the interface circuitry 204 (e.g., theprocessor 210 within the interface circuitry 204) is further configuredto generate a process message signal for the device circuitry 206. Theprocess message signal is generated responsive to an available systemmessage. In an exemplary embodiment, the process message signal isgenerated responsive to the message available indicator from the messagecircuitry 202. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the interfacecircuitry 204 stores one or more system messages in the memory 212 andgenerates the process message signal when a predefined number of systemmessages (e.g., one or more) are stored in the memory or when apredefined portion of the memory used for storing system messages isexceeded (e.g., 50%).

In other exemplary embodiments, the process message signal is generatedin response to the data content of the system messages. For example, theprocess message signal may be generated in response to theidentification of a system message with new data content and/or to theidentification of a system message having a certain priority level.Whether a system message is new may be determined using techniques thatwill be understood by those of skill in the art, e.g., using versioningor checksum values. In an exemplary embodiment, versioning and/orchecksum values for system messages already processed by the devicecircuitry 206 may be passed to the interface circuitry 204 when thedevice circuitry 206 is going to enter the powered down state. Theinterface circuitry may then compare versioning and/or checksum valuefor an incoming system message with versioning and/or checksum valuesfor system messages already processed by the device circuitry 206, andonly generate the process message signal if the versioning and/orchecksum values do not match. If the versioning and/or checksum valuesmatch, which indicates the system message does not contain newinformation, that system message may be discarded without the processmessage signal being generated.

Whether a system message has a certain priority level may be determinedby assigning each system message a priority level at the serviceprovider 102 and viewing the assigned priority level at the interfacecircuitry 204 to identify the priority level. In an exemplaryembodiment, system messages may be assigned a low, medium, and highpriority level. System messages having a high (first) priority level,e.g., an emergency alert message (EAS), may result in the generation ofthe process message signal when they are received, while system messageshaving a lower (second) priority level may be stored in the memory 212before the generation of the process message signal. The system messageshaving the lower priority level may be stored until a high prioritymessage signal is received, the memory is filled to a predefined level,or the electronic device 104 enters the full power mode. In addition,the identification of a high priority system messages by the interfacecircuitry 204 may cause an audible and/or visual emission from anotification device 220 (e.g., a speaker or a light emitting diode)associated with the electronic device 104 regardless of whether thesystem message is passed to the device circuitry 206 for processing.

The device circuitry 206 is coupled to the device interface circuitry204 and is configured to receive and process system messages. In theillustrated embodiment, the device circuitry includes a first processor214 and a second (“main”) processor 216, which are described in furtherdetail below. The device circuitry 206 may further include othercomponents including a tuner, memory, video decoder, and I/O port, whichare not shown to simplify illustration of the present invention. Thedevice circuitry 206 may also include a display (not shown), e.g., ifthe electronic device 104 is a television, or may not include a display,e.g., if the electronic device 104 is, for example, a digital radio orset top box television receiver.

The device circuitry 206 is configured for operation in one of at leasttwo states including a powered up state and a powered down state. In thepowered up state, components within the device circuitry 206 used toprocess system messages are in a processing state capable of processingthe system messages. In the powered down state, one or more componentswithin the device circuitry 206 used to process system messages are in astandby state incapable of processing system messages. In an exemplaryembodiment, the device circuitry 206 is further configured to notify theinterface circuitry 204 when the device circuitry 206 is going to enterthe powered up state and the powered down state. The device circuitry206 may be configured in the powered up state responsive to the processmessage signal received from the interface circuitry 204 or in responseto the electronic device 104 being placed in the full power mode. Inaddition, the device circuit 206 may be configured in the powered downstate when all available system messages have been processed or inresponse to the electronic device 104 being place in the low power mode.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first processor 214 within the devicecircuitry 206 generates a power up signal responsive to a processmessage signal received from the interface circuitry 204 or to a poweron command placing the electronic device 104 in a full power mode. Thepower on command may be generated responsive to an “on” command receivedfrom a user, e.g., from a remote control device (not shown) operated bythe user. The first processor 214 is capable of processing the processmessage signal regardless of whether the device circuitry 206 is in thepowered up state or the powered down state. The first processor 214 maybe a processor, states machine, logic gates, or essentially any devicecapable of processing digital signals. An example of a suitable firstprocessor 214 may be found in conventional infra-red detectors, whichare typically used to transition a television from a standby mode to anactive mode in response to an infra red signal from a remote controldevice (not shown).

The second processor 216 is coupled to the first processor 214 and isconfigured to process the system messages. The second processor 216operates in one of at least two states including the processing stateand the standby state. The second processor 216 is configured totransition from the standby state to the processing state responsive tothe powered up signal from the first processor 214. Additionally, thesecond processor 216 may be configured to transition from the processingstate to the standby state when all available system messages have beenprocessed by the device circuitry 206, e.g., after a predefined periodof time following the processing of a system message without the receiptof a powered up signal. The second processor may be the main processorfor the electronic device 104. A suitable second processor 216 will beunderstood by those of skill in the art from the description herein andmay be integrated within the same integrated circuit as the firstprocessor 214.

FIG. 3 depicts a flow chart 300 of exemplary steps for processing systemmessages in accordance with the present invention. The steps of FIG. 3are described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

At block 302, the electronic device 104 receives a power down command.The power down command may be generated by a remote control device (notshown) or a button on a keypad (not shown) coupled to the electronicdevice 104.

At block 304, the device circuitry 206 signals the interface circuitry204 that the device circuitry 206 is powering down. At block 306, thedevice circuitry enters a powered down state.

At block 308, the interface circuitry 204 waits for a system message(s)from the service provider 102. The interface circuitry 204 may wait forthe system message by periodically polling the message circuitry 202 orby waiting for an interrupt to be generated by the messages circuitry202.

Block 310 determines if a system message is available. If a systemmessage is available, processing proceeds at block 312. If a systemmessage is not available, processing returns to block 308 to continue towait for system messages. In an exemplary embodiment, whether a systemmessage is available is determined by the receipt of a message availableindicator from the message circuitry 202 at the interface circuitry 204.The message available indicator may be an interrupt generated by themessage circuitry 202 or a signal generated by the message circuitry 202in response to polling by the interface circuitry 204.

At block 312, the interface circuitry 204 signals the device circuitry206 to transition from the powered down state to the powered up stateand, at block 314, the device circuitry enters the powered up state inpreparation for processing the system messages. In an exemplaryembodiment, the device circuitry 206 generates a signal that is passedto the interface circuitry 204 when the device circuitry 206 is ready toprocess the system messages.

In an alternative embodiment, system messages are stored in theinterface device 204, e.g., memory 212, until the device circuitry 206enters the powered up state responsive to a command for the electronicdevice 104 to enter the full power mode.

At block 316, system messages are passed from the interface circuitry204 to the device circuitry 206 for processing. At block 318, the devicecircuitry 206 processes the system messages in a known manner.

Block 320 determines if all system messages have been processed. If allsystem messages have been processed, processing proceeds at block 322.If all system messages have not been processed, processing return toblock 316 for the transfer of additional system messages.

Block 322 determines if the electronic device 104 entered a fully powermode during processing of the system messages. If the electronic deviceis not fully powered, processing proceeds at block 324. If theelectronic device 104 is fully powered, processing ends. For example, ifthe electronic device 104 is a television and the television is “turnedon” to view television programming by a command from a user, processingends at block 322 without powering down the device circuitry 206 withinthe television. This enables receipt and processing of system messagesby the electronic device 104 while it is in the full power mode.

At block 324, the device circuitry 206 powered up to process the systemmessages is powered down and processing returns to block 308 to wait foradditional security messages.

The steps of flow chart 300 describe a situation in which the electronicdevice 104 is powered down when system messages are received. If systemmessages are received when the electronic device 104 is powered up, theinterface circuitry 204 may store at least a portion of the systemmessages before they are passed to the device circuitry 206 or theinterface circuitry 204 may pass the system messages directly to thedevice circuitry 206.

The present invention enables processing of system messages receivedwhen device circuitry is in a powered down state. System messages areprocessed through the use of the interface circuitry 204 that either“wakes up” the device circuitry to process system messages or stores thesystem messages until the device circuitry enters a powered up state inresponse to the electronic device 104 entering the full power mode.Thus, device circuitry can enter a powered down state to conserve powerwithout missing system messages

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein withreference to specific embodiments, the invention is not intended to belimited to the details shown. Rather, various modifications may be madein the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claimsand without departing from the invention.

1. A method for processing system messages including data at anelectronic device having at least a full power mode and a low powermode, the electronic device including device circuitry that is in apowered up state in the full power mode and in a powered down state or apowered up state in the low power mode, the method comprising the stepsof: receiving at least one system message including data for processingby the electronic device while the electronic device is in the low powermode; generating a message available indicator responsive to the atleast one system message; generating a process message signal responsiveto at least one of (i) the message available indicator and (ii) the dataof the at least one system message; transitioning the device circuitrywithin the electronic device from the powered down state to the poweredup state while remaining in the low power mode responsive to the processmessage signal; and processing the data of the at least one systemmessage using the device circuitry in the powered up state while in thelow power mode.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the stepof: transitioning the device circuitry from the powered up state to thepowered down state after processing the data of the at least one systemmessage.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of:determining if additional system messages including data are receivedduring the processing of the data of the at least one system message;wherein said processing step further comprises processing the data ofeach of the additional system messages prior to transitioning from thepowered up state to the powered down state.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the at least one system message is received via messagecircuitry and wherein the step of generating the message availableindicator comprises the steps of: polling the message circuitry for theat least one message; and generating the message available indicatorresponsive to polling the message circuitry if the at least one messageis available.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one systemmessage is received via message circuitry and wherein the messageavailable indicator is an interrupt generated by the message circuitryresponsive to the at least one system message.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the step of generating the process message signal comprises thesteps of: identifying a priority level for the data of each of the atleast one system messages; generating the process message signalresponsive to system message data having a first priority level; andstoring system messages including data having a second priority levelare stored for processing when the electronic device enters the fullpower mode.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating theprocess message signal comprises the steps of: identifying one or moreof the at least one system messages including data containing newinformation; and generating the process message signal responsive to thenew information system message data; wherein system messages includingdata without new information are discarded.
 8. An apparatus forprocessing system messages including data received from a serviceprovider, the apparatus having a full power mode and a low power mode,the apparatus comprising: message circuitry configured to receive atleast one system message and to generate a message available indicatorresponsive to receipt of the at least one system message; interfacecircuitry coupled to the message circuitry, the interface circuitryconfigured to receive at least one system message and to generate aprocess message signal responsive to the at least one system message;and device circuitry coupled to the interface circuitry, the devicecircuitry having a powered up state when the apparatus is in the fullpower mode and both a powered down state and a powered up state when theapparatus is in the low power mode, the device circuitry initiallyconfigured in the powered down state when the apparatus is in the lowpower mode and is further configured to transition to the powered upstate while the apparatus remains in the low power mode responsive tothe receipt of the process message signal from the interface circuitry.9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the device circuitry comprises: afirst processor configured to receive and process the process messagesignal when the device circuitry is in the powered down state, the firstprocessor generating a power up signal responsive to receipt of theprocess message signal; and a second processor coupled to the firstprocessor, the second processor having a processing state and a standbystate, the second processor initially configured in the standby statewhen the apparatus is in the low power mode and is further configured totransition to the processing state to process the at least one systemmessage responsive to the power up signal.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein the device circuitry is further configured to transition fromthe powered up state to the powered down state after processing the atleast one system message.
 11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein theinterface circuitry is configured to poll the message circuitry todetermine if the at least one message is available, receive a messageavailable indicator if the at least one system message is available, andgenerate the process message signal responsive to the message availableindicator.
 12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the message availableindicator is an interrupt generated by the message circuitry and whereinthe interface circuitry is configured to generate the process messagesignal responsive to the interrupt.
 13. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein the interface circuitry comprises: a memory configured to storeat least a portion of the at least one system message; and a processorcoupled to the memory, the processor configured to generate the processmessage signal responsive to a predefined portion of the memory beingfilled by the at least one system message.
 14. The apparatus of claim13, wherein the processor is configured to process the at least onesystem message to identify a priority level for each system message andwherein the processor generates the process message signal responsive tosystem messages having a first priority level and stores system messageshaving a second priority level in the memory for processing when theapparatus enters the full power mode.
 15. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein the interface circuitry is configured to process the at leastone system message to identify new system message data and wherein theinterface circuitry generates the process message signal responsive tothe new system message data and discards other system message data. 16.The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the electronic device is a televisionreceiver.
 17. A system for processing system messages including data atan electronic device having at least a full power mode and a low powermode, the electronic device including device circuitry that is in apowered up state in the full power mode and in a powered down state or apowered up state in the low power mode, the system comprising: means forreceiving at least one system message including data for processing bythe electronic device while the electronic device is in the low powermode; means for generating a message available indicator responsive tothe at least one system message; means for generating a process messagesignal responsive to at least one of (i) the message available indicatorand (ii) the data of the at least one system message; means fortransitioning the device circuitry within the electronic device from thepowered down state to the powered up state while the system remains inthe low power mode responsive to the process message signal; and meansfor processing the data of the at least one system message using thedevice circuitry in the powered up state while the system remains in thelow power mode.
 18. The system of claim 17, further comprising: meansfor transitioning the device circuitry from the powered up state to thepowered down state after processing the data of the at least one systemmessage.
 19. The system of claim 18, further comprising: means fordetermining if additional system messages including data are receivedduring the processing of the data of the at least one system message;wherein said processing means further comprises means for processing thedata of each of the additional system messages prior to transitioningfrom the powered up state to the powered down state.
 20. The systemclaim 17, wherein the at least one system message is received viamessage circuitry and wherein the means for generating the messageavailable indicator comprises: means for polling the message circuitryfor the at least one message; and means for generating the messageavailable indicator responsive to the polling means if the at least onemessage is available.
 21. The system of claim 17, wherein the messageavailable indicator is an interrupt.
 22. The system of claim 17, whereinthe means for generating the process message signal comprises: means foridentifying a priority level for the data of each of the at least onesystem messages; means for generating the process message signalresponsive to system message data having a first priority level; andmeans for storing system messages including data having a secondpriority level for processing when the electronic device enters the fullpower mode.
 23. The system of claim 17, wherein the means for generatingthe process message signal comprises: means for identifying one or moreof the at least one system messages including data containing newinformation; and means for generating the process message signalresponsive to the new information system message data; wherein systemmessages including data without new information are discarded.